This week, Jon talks with Ariane Tabatabai, a Middle East fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. They discuss the internal political backlash in Iran, tensions between the IRGC and the Rouhani-led government, and the role of the United States. Then, Jon, Will, and McKinley talk about how the coronavirus is affecting Iran’s relationships with its regional neighbors.

Jon Alterman, “COVID-19 and Cascading Crises in the Middle East” Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 25, 2020.

Jon Alterman, “Add coronavirus to other crises, and the Middle East faces a catastrophe,” The Hill, March 22, 2020.

Ariane Tabatabai, No Conquest, No Defeat: Iran’s National Security Strategy, Hurst Publishers, September 2020.

Ariane Tabatabai, “Don’t Expect a Thaw in Iran,” Foreign Policy, December 10, 2019.